


without even a last desperate warning

by inawasteland



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-09 16:52:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5548037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inawasteland/pseuds/inawasteland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU in which Arin wakes up and everything has changed.  Dan never met Brian to form Ninja Sex Party, Arin never met Suzy and thus is not married to her.  Ross never married Holly, and so Arin and Ross share an apartment together.  With Arin being the only person to know that there is something wrong, it’s up to him to fix everything by bringing the group back together.  But how do you convince people that something they don't see as broken needs to be fixed?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arin

**Author's Note:**

> First Game Grumps fic, so I apologize if it's not completely accurate but I am trying! Feel free to leave me feedback in the comments and I hope you like it as much as I enjoy writing it :)
> 
> P.S. each chapter is going to be named for the character whose pov it's in, a la Game of Thrones. Because I'm a nerd for shifty POVs
> 
> P.P.S. the title comes from the theme song from The Last Unicorn and may change if I come up with something better.

When Arin wakes up, the first thing he notices is that it is ungodly cold.  This isn’t exactly out of the ordinary though, as he is used to Suzy hogging the blankets at night.  But when he rolls over, he notices that not only is nobody there, but he isn’t home.  This isn’t his bed, this isn’t the home he shares with Suzy, with the light of his life.

This is all wrong, and when he tries to sit up there’s a sharp pain shooting up from the middle of his back straight to his head, causing him to cry out sharply.  Okay, maybe he shouldn’t try sitting up just yet.  It’s almost as if he finished off an entire six pack on his own, which is preposterous since he definitely did nothing of the sort the night before.

What the fuck?  The lack of his wife’s presence combined with the fact that this is _definitely_ not his home is causing him to panic and he quickly searches for his phone to see if there were any messages on his phone that might enlighten him.  Was this a prank?  This space he was in didn’t even look remotely like any of his friends’ humble abodes.  He had been in Barry and Dan’s apartment countless times.

Dan, maybe he would know what was going on.  Maybe Ross had orchestrated all of this, although as much of an asshole as he was capable of being, he wasn’t _this_ much of an evil genius.

Finally locating his phone, Arin starts navigating to his contacts, and is alarmed to see that, while there are some obvious numbers on there (Ross, Jon and his parents, to name a few), there happen to be a severe lack of names that he knows have been on there before.  Dan, Suzy, Holly, even Mark wasn’t on there.  What the fuck was going on?  This is far beyond a prank, this is like an ungodly nightmare.  A nightmare that Arin would really love to wake up from, thank you very much.

But no matter what Arin does, tossing and turning, pinching his arm, there is no waking up for him.  He is stuck in this eerie daydream with no hopes of returning to normal.  There’s nothing left for Arin to do then but to explore his surroundings.  But first he decides to shoot Ross a text, the only person on his list of contacts that he trusts to not immediately assume Arin has lost it and is a danger to himself.

“ _yo dude, what the fuck happened last night? I fell asleep next to suze and woke up alone and not in our house”_

Slowly trying to sit upright again and slip out of his bed, Arin finds that it’s much easier now that he’s allowed himself to fully wake up.  Whatever it Is that’s caused him to hallucinate an entire new world is hopefully dissipating, which means that he will find himself back at home with Suzy.  That’s how these things worked…right?  His phone would be back to normal and he would simply go to work, recording new episodes with Dan and this would all turn out to be a merry prank.

Of course, the more Arin thought about it, the more he started to panic again.  What if this isn’t all in his head?  What if the past who knows how many years has been part of some weird error in his brain and this is the reality that he is meant to be living?

But no, that’s ridiculous.  Of _course_ he couldn’t have imagined all those people in his life.  People like Dan and Suzy and Barry, with their colorful personalities.  So clearly this is the wrong world and the world he needs to get to again is out there somewhere.

Arin knows it’s insane, to be jumping to such ridiculous conclusions.  So he walks around his apparent bedroom while waiting for a reply from Ross.  The clock reads 6:59 am.  Arin can’t remember the last time he willingly woke up this early, so he isn’t surprised when Ross doesn’t respond right away.  This just gives him more time to look around, to examine everything for signs of what this hellish landscape is.

So far all Arin can figure out is that he is still living in Los Angeles based on his phone’s GPS and the weather app, and that this apartment is tiny as fuck.  Really, really small, and he apparently has a roommate whose bedroom is across the hall.  When he hears a familiar voice coming from that bedroom, it startles Arin and he wonders what cruel trick is being played on him, honestly.

“Jesus you lazy fuck you know if you need to talk you can just ask, no need to text.”  Ross.  That mother _fucker_.  Is his roommate?  In what wicked universe would this even happen?  Just as he contemplates this horrible turn of events, the bedroom door opens to reveal a very sleepy-looking Ross, holding his mobile phone up for Arin to see.  “Who’s Suze anyway?  You never mentioned her before.  Are you getting laid without telling me?” Arin notices that Ross’s Australian is slipping out a lot more than it usually does.

“You…don’t remember Suzy?  My wife?  Manager of Game Grumps?” That panic is rising from the center of his heart, reaching out to prickle at the tips of his fingers.  He finds it hard to breathe, wondering to himself if maybe he should find some place to sit since he is starting to suspect that he isn’t going to like Ross’s response.

To his dismay, he was correct.  “You’re _married_?  You never mentioned that when we co-signed this lease, dude.  And what’s Game Grumps?”

Too late, Arin stumbles to the floor, landing smack on his ass as his whole face goes pale.  This isn’t fucking happening, his whole well-being depended on the friendships, his relationships, and they were all gone?  His whole livelihood was poured into his YouTube channels and that, all disappeared into the ether?  Was the universe just laughing at him now, taking sheer pleasure in the pitiful shambles that his life had apparently become?

“Whoa, Arin, what’s wrong?  Did I say something wrong?  I didn’t mean to, I swear,” Ross continues to apologize as he crouches on the floor next to Arin, helping him back to his feet and struggling to keep him upright.

"No.  I mean, it’s not your fault.  I just went to sleep as one person and apparently woke up as another.  I…wouldn’t expect you to understand,” Arin response, frowning at Ross’s confused and concerned face.  Ross is sincere with his apologies, and so he knows that this isn’t Ross’s doing.  No matter what the Internet wants to believe, Ross just isn’t that sadistic and cares about his friends.  He would never put Arin through an ordeal of such a magnitude when he knows full well how much pain it would cause his friend.  And Suzy would never let him anyway, so there was that.

“You’re scaring me,” Ross says quietly, averting his eyes from Arin.  “Do you think…maybe you should get some…I mean, I know you’ve been under a lot of stress after your animations didn’t pan out, but you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.”

How could Arin explain all of this to Ross?  How could Ross understand that this isn’t Arin’s world?  That Arin is married to a beautiful, amazing wife and that Ross is part of a group of his best friends and together they make successful videos on the Internet?  And that Arin’s animations are, well, apparently more successful than they happen to be in this world?

“I don’t think it’s possible for one person to fabricate an entire universe of success in as much detail as I have,” Arin rebuffs.  “Not to mention one person who, might I add, didn’t even finish high school.  Come on dude, I swear to you, I’m not lying.  You have to trust me on this one.”  He’s pleading for Ross not to do something drastic.  After all, Arin would not be able to do anything from inside a hospital or a jail cell, god forbid it ever came to that.

“You…do have a point,” Ross concedes with a deep sigh, guiding Arin over to his bed so they both can sit on it more comfortably.  Although Arin stands a bit more stably, he certainly appreciates the gesture.  “But then what do we do?  What can we possibly do?  This isn’t a movie, we can’t just look shit up on the internet and expect to find out some secret solution.”

The internet…maybe they wouldn’t find some secret solution, but can’t they at least pinpoint where their friends happen to be now?  Arin lunges for his phone, just because it happens to be the closest bridge to the internet and he quickly types “ninja sex party” into his browser.

“What’s that?” Ross asks, looking over his shoulder.  “C’mon dude, now is not the time to look up weird porn.”

Arin slowly turns his head to look at Ross, intensely narrowing his eyes, forgetting for the moment that Ross has no idea what the fuck is going on.

“Ninja Sex Party.  They’re a band, I did some animations for them and wound up becoming really good friends with the lead singer.  You said my animations didn’t pan out, but maybe that’s because I never sent them any animations for their songs,” Arin explains, trying to be patient.  This proves difficult since Arin just wants his life back the way it was before he woke up.

But when no relevant results show up after his Google search, Arin is about ready to throw his phone across the room.  He tries a few more searches that he can think of that might link him back to Dan or even Brian.

In the end, it’s Skyhill that proves to be the missing link.  And explains why Ninja Sex Party apparently doesn’t exist anywhere on the internet.  Instead of ending this project to team up with Brian Wecht, it would seem that Dan went on to record a couple more albums and continues to play shows every now and then with them.  Which means that Dan must still be living in Brooklyn, right?  Or somewhere in New York, if the Wikipedia article is at all correct.

And then Ross poses a very important question that Arin honestly can’t answer, at least not at first.  It’s a question that changes his perspective and makes him re-evaluate what it is he is trying to do.

“You’re going after him, then?  Why aren’t you looking for your wife first?”

And honestly, Arin _should_ go after Suzy.  But Dan is just out of reach, he at least knows where he can find him.  Suzy…who knows what she would have gone on to do without Arin in her life?

And to be honest, it made Arin a little sick to think about the idea that maybe, in this world, Suzy met someone else to settle down with.  He knows if he is serious about making the world right again, he is going to have to face that fear.  But for now, he is going to push that aside and focus on Dan.

“Because I know where to find Dan.  He’s a smart guy, he’ll know how to track everyone else down.”  Arin very pointedly avoids looking at Ross’s eyes, who he is sure is judging him profusely right now.  And maybe he does deserve to be judged, just a little bit.  A very tiny part of him knows that he is going about this all wrong.

“Is that the real reason or is that what you’re telling yourself because it’s easier to believe?”

Arin’s eyes flashed with annoyance as he glared at Ross and his first instinct is to lash out at his friend and insist that he is so wrong, that of course that’s the real reason, but the darkness passes quickly and he relaxes with a sigh, looking down at the comforter on his full size bed that he swears up and down isn’t actually his.  “I fucking hate it when you’re right sometimes,” Arin mumbles.  “I don’t fucking know what to do.”

Ross, who has been sitting next to Arin this whole time and worrying about the little shit, wraps his arms tightly around his roommate and squeezes him tightly.  “Look, I don’t have all the answers.  I can’t tell you what to do or how to do it.  But if you want to go find this guy, I’m not going to stand in your way.  Just…be careful with whatever you decide to do.  I’m worried about you, that you’re confusing reality with…something else.”

Arin may not know what reality is, but he does know that if he can convince Dan of what his reality is, and if he can find Suzy and do the same, then he can be happy again.  And maybe if he can’t, at least he can figure out some way to at least keep these people in his life again.  Because deep down, the terror isn’t so much that his world is different but that these people that he loves so dearly have managed to build lives without Arin in them.

He never realized how much he depended on them until they’re no longer in his life.

“Ross, look up how much a one way plane ticket to New York is.  I’m gonna have to see if there’s anyone I happen to know that I can crash with while I find my friend.”

Ross sighs and retreats back to his room to boot up his computer.  “Let me go pack our bags, then.”

When Arin and Ross leave for LAX, Arin silently hopes that if there is a return trip, there will be an extra seat purchased for one curly-haired Jewish musician whose goofy smile Arin can’t stop thinking about.  Arin knows full well it should be Suzy that he’s thinking about, worrying about, stopping at nothing to reclaim, but it’s Dan that consumes his thoughts.  And when the plane lands in JFK, Arin wonders if perhaps he was too hasty, that he isn’t ready to face Dan, that he doesn’t know what he’s going to say.  But Ross brings him back to reality, back from the panic-inducing thoughts that have been claiming his mind for too many hours now.

“Where to, mate?”


	2. Dan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Skyhill riding off the success of yet another album, it's up to Dan to continue going through the motions and ensuring their next performance goes without a hitch. But anything can happen when Dan sees someone he somehow recognizes in the audience. How do you explain the feeling that you've met someone before when you know you've never seen them before in your life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah the struggle to maintain present tense when I keep wanting to slip into past tense. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep updating this quickly, especially with the approaching holiday but I was so inspired I had to keep writing. As always, please let me know what you think in the comments, and thank you for reading!

Life has become more or less a monotonous routine by now.  Wasn’t that why you pursued music, so it _wouldn’t_ be boring as fuck?  So that there would always be something new and interesting just around the corner? 

When Dan stares into the mirror with lifeless eyes, he knows no matter what mistakes he may have made in the past, there is no turning back now.  Too many people are depending on him to show up on time, to go through the motions, to get through another shitty day of sound checks, performances, and meet and greets with people who think they know him.

The beginning of his career was insanely awesome.  When _Run With The Hunted_ actually picked up radio play, Dan thought he was going to shit his pants.  It was a freak occurrence, and Dan is well aware of it.  The right person at the right time just happened to get their hands on a copy and gave it a chance.  Then somehow, people kept requesting it, wanting to hear it again.

It was supposed to be just a one off deal.  Peter had originally wanted to go work on his own stuff and they were going to part ways with Dan forced to look for someone else to collaborate with.  But then they got insanely popular and Peter had second thoughts.  So, Dan agreed to keep writing and singing so long as Peter wanted to.  Somewhere along the line, Dan forgot what it was they had started the band for to begin with.

There’s a show tonight at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.  Dan has been waiting for Peter to send him the guitar lines that he had been working on to complement the lyrics and Dan’s vocals.  The one thing that Dan has insisted on after all these years is that they don’t bow to the suits and ties and let their music become dictated by some musically incompetent manager with no concept of artistic integrity.  Which of course meant that deadlines were few and far between and work ethic was less than perfect.  But they still managed to make ends meet somehow.

Truth be told, Dan lives for the energy that the crowd tosses back at him, the feeling of goosebumps he gets when he sings a song and the audience sings it back at him.  That feeling never gets old.  But the writing process is starting to get frustrated and, if he had his way, he would just keep playing their albums that have already been released and forget about that whole writing to stay relevant thing that Peter seems insistent upon.

The amount of times Dan has nearly quit the band has become innumerable.

Although the sun still has yet to set, Dan knows he has to head over early enough to make it in time for sound check.  How easy it would be to just…not show up.  He shakes his head, driving these thoughts away from him.  They’re becoming more and more frequent, these thoughts of fleeing, of dissatisfaction, and Dan isn’t sure how to make them stop, or where they are even coming from.  He checks his phone, almost neurotically swiping through each tab, as if he is expecting a text or an e-mail or _something_ , but throws his phone on the table with a frustrated sigh.  He grips both sides of his dresser and forces himself to look at his reflection in the mirror.  The bloodshot eyes, the sallow cheeks, and bags under his eyelids so dark it would take a miracle for makeup to cover them up.

Dan hasn’t been sleeping well lately.  Recurring nightmares will do that to you, and so he medicates with too many pills, too much weed, and too much alcohol.  He knows he’ll pay for it later, but if it gets him to sleep through the night, then whatever.

If only he could figure out what it is his life has been lacking all this time.

Time seems to speed up and slow down at whim, to the point where every time he blinks he seem to lose track of time.  Soon enough, Dan is standing in the green room, pacing back and forth with the nerves that always seem to creep up on him, no matter how often he does this.  His vocal cords are sufficiently warmed up and there’s only one thing left to do: rock his socks off, as well as the socks of everyone in the audience.

Okay, so maybe Skyhill is only the opener for tonight, but it’s still something.  It’s a bigger venue than Glasslands, so Dan can’t be too dismayed.  Sometimes you just have to take baby steps and hope that you keep getting better shows as time goes on.

And maybe, Peter will finally finish up the guitar and keyboard lines he promised would be coming his way so their band could book a small tour.  Dan knows that’s what he’s missing, it _has_ to be.  What else could it be?  He’s been stuck in his tiny studio apartment in Greenpoint for god knows how long, and sure it’s a step up from that dingy apartment in Bushwick he shared with way too many other dudes, but he needs a change in scenery.

Once the house lights dim, that’s the cue for Dan to take the stage, and at this point it’s easy to just turn on the charm and put on the act he’s far too used to by now.  It may not be the most genuine of his performances, but by the end of the first song, he feels energized enough that he lets himself slip into the familiarity of his own words.

And while most of the people in the audience are here to see the main act, Dan can’t help but spot a few people who recognize the words and sing them back to him.

He manages to get through the show without royally fucking up – not that he’s actually screwed up a performance thus for, but there’s a first time for everything – and he’s about to wrap up the song before the encore when his eyes spot someone in the crowd, a head of hair with a stripe of blonde, that looks so incredibly familiar that it jolts Dan back to reality, forcing himself out of his own headspace.  It’s almost as if he’s beside himself, staring at himself while staring at this kid in the audience.  It’s the weirdest sensation, and he almost stumbles but Peter saves him by taking the lead even though Dan knows he’s not at all comfortable singing.

Dan recovers as quickly as he can and rambles about how lovely an audience they were and to get ready for the most awesome set of their lives within the next thirty minutes and to come say hi at the merch booth, practically racing off the stage when their set was officially over.

What the actual fuck was that?  _Who_ was that and why did they seem so familiar to Dan?  He is fairly certain he would remember someone like that, so he isn’t sure what is going on, only that Dan wants to numb himself, to forget it ever happened before it disrupts the status quo and makes it impossible for Dan to just stumble through each day in a daze.

“What the fuck was that?” came Peter’s shrill voice, and Dan clenches his eyes shut because he knows it’s his fucking fault that the ending was fucked up.  But Dan’s also a stubborn fuck and doesn’t want to take full responsibility.  He wants so desperately to place the blame on this stranger, but when the words enter his mind, he can’t utter them because they sound so ridiculous even when unsaid.

“I don’t know,” Dan responds dumbly instead.  “I need fresh air.  You gonna be okay at merch without me?”  Although the two of them usually hired a couple of people to man the merch table they liked to join the table between sets to meet anyone that just so happened to want to meet them.  After what just happened, Dan isn’t sure he wants to meet this stranger that continues to haunt his thoughts even minutes after their set was over.

“How about we man the merch table together for a bit and then you get fresh air?” Peter compromised.  Dan knows that, as the frontman of the band, a majority of people will be wanting to meet him.  He knows that they will be disappointed if it’s just Peter at the merch table.  So it’s time for him to suck it up once again and deal with it.  He will just have to drown his anxiety down again when he gets home; a perk of living alone being that he could do whatever the fuck he wanted, no matter how unhealthy it happened to be and there would be nobody that could tell him to stop.

At least nobody with an effectively persuasive voice, as people (Peter, his father) have tried.

Drawing in a deep breath, Dan steps out with Peter in tow to make his way to the merch booth.  It’s really just a table with some shirts tacked up to a bird.  The designs are mainly nature-themed to go with their atmospheric vibe that the duo has managed to keep going even through three separate EP’s and two LP’s.  There is even some jewelry designed by a friend of a friend – a portion of the profits from that goes back to her as part of the agreement they drew up.  And, of course, there are CD’s for sale.  In the age of digital streaming and MP3’s, CD’s are of course a dying art.  But they still try to find ways to generate sales somehow.

It’s easy for Dan to slip back into the persona he has created for the fans, easy for him to forget what happened earlier that evening as he signs posters and CD’s, chats with the fans.

Except all of that confidence melts away as soon as he locks eyes with blonde striped guy and he forgets to breathe for a good ten seconds.  He inhales sharply and forces a smile, leaning over to Peter to inform him that he really needs that fresh air right now, and doesn’t even wait for a response before making a bee-line for the back door.  He doesn’t wait to see the kid’s reaction, to see if he’s being followed.  He doesn’t even check to make sure he has his pass to get back inside because all he can think of right now is getting as much distance between him and this stranger as possible.

The fact that it happens to be the middle of November in Brooklyn and Dan isn’t wearing very much in the way of clothes because _fucking hot spotlights_ doesn’t make for a very good combination.  He ignores the urge to shiver, the sharpness of cold air hitting his lungs and tries to focus on the fact that he is at least not a ball of nerves.  How one person he has definitely never met in his entire life can do that to him is beyond his very limited knowledge of how this shit works.

He is lulled into a false sense of calmness even with the occasional blaring ambulance or car horn, but even this serenity cannot last long, because sure enough there is a hand touching his shoulder, jolting him away from his thoughts.  Dan looks up slowly because he knows exactly who it’s going to be even before he sees that dumb blonde stripe and those piercing eyes that seem to be looking right through him, rather than at him.  It’s an odd sensation.

“Who are you?  What do you want?” Is all Dan can think to ask, and his voice wavers a little more than he intended it to.  He’s supposed to sound like he’s much more in control, but it’s probably clear to this kid that he’s anything but.

“Shit, relax, it’s just me,” blondie responds, as if this is supposed to calm him down.  It doesn’t.

“I don’t know who you are.”  A half-lie.  He knows _something_ about this guy.  At least, he thinks he does.  But he doesn’t know his name or where he should know him from.

“Arin,” he states simply, like that’s supposed to jog his memory.  But as much as he hates to admit it, he feels like he knows Arin from somewhere and it’s killing him that he can’t remember.  He feels connected to this guy in a way that’s scaring him.

“I’m sorry, if we met before, I see a lot of faces every concert…” but Dan remembers almost every face he’s seen since Skyhill started performing and Arin was definitely none of those faces.  There has to have been some other place and time where he ran into Arin.

“I doubt we met.  Look, this is going to sound crazy and I don’t expect you to believe me, but please hear me out?”

Dan appreciates that Arin doesn’t launch into whatever crazy tirade he’s about to go into, but that just gives him ample opportunity to make an excuse _not_ to listen.  So he reaches out to place a hand on Arin’s wrist, to stop him before he can go into further details.

What happens next, Dan is certain not even someone well-versed in metaphysics could explain.

Or astrophysics.

_Brian_.

There’s a flash of blue spandex and a red cape.  Someone he never met is dressed as a ninja playing keyboard.  _We are Ninja Sex Party and we’re here to seduce you!_

A blur changes the scene to a couch where he and Arin are playing video games.  Another flash and they’re recording something in a studio.  Arin introduces them as Starbomb.  Conventions, panels, more video games, _comedy_ , and Dan’s head is spinning because it’s too much, all of it coming to the surface.  Two realities at war with each other in his brain and Dan knows he can’t have them both.

He has to choose.  The status quo that he has comfortably lived with all this time or taking a chance on some odd guy with such familiar eyes, who managed to inject comedy into his life after so many days of forgetting what it was like to actually _smile_.

The choice is before him and Dan knows what he should do.  That his life, his mental well-being would benefit from this change.  But change?  It scares the shit out of him and before he can really think about the ramifications of what joining forces with Arin would mean, he opens his eyes – his eyes that he didn’t remember closing in the first place – and after staring at Arin like a deer caught in the bright lights of an SUV, he bolts as fast and as far as his feet will take him.  He vaguely hears the, “Wait, Dan, stop!” before he’s out of range.  He doesn’t stop to see if Arin is following him and he doesn’t stop until he’s standing in front of the bus stop fumbling for his wallet.

His wallet, which he just so happened to leave back at the venue.


	3. Ross

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross explores the city while Arin is out tracking Danny down and runs into someone unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Years! I am going to try and keep up with my current trend of posting a new chapter every few days, but now that work is probably going to pick up again, I may have trouble doing so. Just please have patience with me if I start slacking with updates, I promise it is not out of intentionally procrastinating!

New York City.  There is something altogether foreign and yet familiar about it at the same time.  Perhaps it’s just the similarities to Los Angeles that Ross is feeling, or maybe there’s something more to it.

All of this talk from Arin about how the world is all wrong, how there are all of these people that the two of them befriended and created a YouTube channel with, it should be a lot more disconcerting than it actually is.  He should probably be a lot more worried about Arin than he is, and that is why he is wondering if there is any truth to Arin’s insane talk.

Which is why he opts out of joining Arin on his quest to find this Dan person, but doesn’t opt out of the trip to New York.  He knows that letting Arin go on his own to a new city is just asking for a disaster, and besides, maybe he is meant to be here just as much as Arin is.

While Arin is going to this Skyhill concert, Ross decides it’s time for him to do some soul searching of his own, to figure out if there is anything in this city that is meant for him and him alone.

 _There has to be more out there in the world than shitty Flash animations and a yearning for more recognition for my talents._ Ross idly wonders about Arin’s description of this Game Grumps channel.  On the flight from LAX, he had described it as a comedy channel dedicated to commenting on the video games while they play them.  Is there really a future in that?  And what of the animation that he and Ross had spent so much time working on these past years, that shared hobby of theirs that brought them together in the first place?

Arin had not mentioned anything about that being a part of this alternate world that he apparently lived in.  And maybe deep down Ross felt a little bit of regret that something else took precedence in Arin’s world than the one passion that he thought the two of them loved more than anything else in the world.  And so maybe it’s a selfishness inside Ross that inspires his own journey to figure out what his place in Arin’s world is, but he knows that it’s this very same selfishness that is driving Arin to go on this crazy journey in the first place.  And fuck if Arin gets to figure out some way to bring about his idea of a perfect world than Ross should get to find his own place in this world.

When Arin offers to buy a ticket for Ross for the concert, Ross declines, simply making the excuse that he wants to be a tourist while he still can.  And while it is half-true, because Ross does want to explore the city a bit while they happen to be there, it’s not the complete truth.  Ross needs to see why the city is calling to him, why he was so quick to buy a ticket for himself when it really was Arin who needed to come here.

With Arin gone, Ross is free to figure out his own agenda.  He pulls out his phone and starts looking up potential places to go.  As an artist, it is the numerous galleries and museums that entice him, and so he decides SoHo is the area that will be the easiest to satiate his thirst for the visual medium.  He could always hit up the more historical museums later, but there’s something about contemporary art and the more up and coming media that intrigues him more than anything.  The fact that graphic art is becoming more and more popular gives him hope that maybe one day his own art will be worth talking about, worth more than hits on the internet.

The hotel that the pair booked is one of the cheaper ones, located away from the tourist trap of Times Square, and so Ross, being puzzled with the labyrinth that is the New York City transit system, decides to bite the bullet and grab a cab to take him to one of the galleries he was able to find.  Inside the gallery, his imagination is stimulated in more ways than any of his classes while he was still living in Perth.  It’s still nothing like the graphic art that he has come to know and love, but there is something extraordinary about the type of things artists are inspired to do.  It gives him hope that one day he will be able to inspire some young lad into giving the world of art a chance.

Once he wraps up with the first gallery, he leaves and pulls out his phone to find another one to visit.  Every other day, Ross is usually very adept at walking while dicking around his phone, but it seems that fate has a different idea for him, because as he walking down the fairly empty streets of SoHo, he suddenly feels the unmistakable force of a collision.  It knocks him off balance, and he is about to fall onto his ass when the stranger’s arm wraps around his side to pull him back to center.

It’s in that moment that everything changes.

_The five of them are sitting around a table.  Arin, who he recognizes immediately, but the other three he can’t put a finger on.  Dressed in dapper clothing from the 1800s, playing a card game._

_Another flash of Ross with one of the other guys sitting in front of a computer playing a Steam game.  Barry, that’s his name, right?  It feels so familiar in Ross’s head and he feels foolish for ever forgetting about it._

When the visions pass, Ross is staring dumbfounded at the stranger, who just so happens to be the bloke that he was sitting next to.  Of course, who else could trigger something so familiar?

Barry, however, doesn’t have that spark of recognition that Ross has, and Ross’s heart sinks a little.  _This must be what Arin felt like when I didn’t know what the fuck Game Grumps was._

“What, do I have something on my face?” Barry says finally to break the silence that was apparently too thick for his taste.

“Oh…no, I just thought I knew you from somewhere.”  And Ross cringes as he realizes that his accent slipped out again.  No matter how much effort Ross has put into perfecting an American accent, his accent had a tendency to shift whenever he was flustered, which perfectly explained why it happened to come out now.  “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he adds, although is he really all that sorry?  If the two of them didn’t collide just now, Ross would never have had all of those memories flood back to the surface.

“No need to apologize,” Barry responds with a warm smile that vanishes way too quickly and soon he is going to be gone, out of Ross’s life too quickly and he knows he needs to do something to stop that from happening.  If Arin needs to assemble the group together again, if that is what is necessary for Ross to feel like his time here on this earth _means something_ , then he can’t let Barry go, not when he’s right here, in front of him, within an arm’s reach.

But what can he do to make him stay?

“It’s Barry, right?” Ross blurts out, hoping beyond hope that he isn’t overstepping any lines, that he isn’t about to ruin any chance for Barry to actually stay and hear him out.

Barry has begun to walk past Ross, brushing past him as he does so when Ross says his name, and he stops in his tracks and turns around, slowly.  Ross’s heart is beating fast, faster than he can ever remember it beating in his life, and Ross has apparently forgotten to breathe.

“How did you know my name?” Barry asks, a face of bewilderment clearly displayed for Ross.

And now Ross is stuck.  Does he tell him the truth, crazy as it sounds?  Especially since it’s Arin that knows everything about what their world is supposed to be like and Ross is certain he will only get himself arrested or simply rejected.  Or does he make up some lie, just to get Barry to stick around long enough for Arin to convince him otherwise?

_A lie will only hurt things in the long run, even if it keeps him around._

Damn Ross’s voice of reason, and he knows it’s the right thing to do.

But how does he even explain those visions that he had?  Ross hadn’t believed Arin until that world felt real to him, just now.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Ross begins, speaking slowly, careful not to let his accent slip out again.  “My world is different with you in it.  You’re supposed to be a part of it.  I saw us, a vision of us, playing games together.  Along with our friends, and you’re supposed to be there, _please_ don’t leave.”

Barry opens his mouth to respond to that, but then shuts it, as if he is actually mulling over Ross’s words in his head.  Thinking back on his less than stellar plea, he wouldn’t be at all surprised if Barry speeds away from Ross.  Ross can’t even say he would blame him.  He knows it’s an incredulous explanation, but it’s the only one Ross could come up with that isn’t a blatant lie.

“I don’t even know what to say to that,” is all Barry says, his eyes darting around the city as if looking for an out.  Ross wishes he didn’t care so damn much about keeping Barry here, as the guilt of cornering Barry is starting to eat at him.  “Let’s say hypothetically that what you’re telling me is true.  I’m supposed to be a part of your world.  Then why _aren’t_ I?”

It’s Ross’s turn to be speechless.  He honestly doesn’t know why this is happening.  Why Arin and Ross woke up with Arin being the only person to know what this world is supposed to be like.  Why suddenly an entire country separates Arin and Ross from Danny and Barry.  There has to be an explanation, right?

“Look, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I don’t really have time for this.”  Barry checks his watch and Ross knows that he is keeping him from something.  Ross sighs and closes his eyes in defeat, his head hanging low.  He is about to lose Barry for what may very well be forever.  He knows how big this fucking city is, how ridiculously serendipitous this encounter happens to be.  But he knows Barry won’t give them the time of day after this.

“Okay, okay.  I won’t keep you.  But can I at least give you my e-mail address?  My friend Arin and I are going to be in town for a few more days, maybe when you do have the time you can listen to him.”  It’s the only thing Ross can think of, and maybe Barry would be more open to corresponding with them if he doesn’t necessarily have to give his own e-mail address.

Barry doesn’t answer right away, and the anticipation of his response is killing Ross.  But he nods and Ross’s eyes light up like it’s Christmas morning and he’s five years old again.  It almost looks like Barry’s lips curled up in a small smile at Ross’s reaction.  Barry pulls out his phone and unlocks it, navigating to the Mail app so Ross can write his email in it.

If Ross were more of an evil conniving bastard he could have looked up Barry’s email while in said app, but he knows that if he tries to e-mail Barry directly without Barry first opening up that line of communication, he will never get Barry to speak with him.  So, his only hope rests with the idea that Barry might get curious and contact him, that he might actually want to hear what Arin has to say.

“I hope I do see you before we go back to California,” Ross says once he gives Barry back his phone.  “But if I don’t, well…” Ross stops himself from getting too sentimental.  This is a delicate situation and making Barry feel uncomfortable would only make things worse, right?

Ross doesn’t finish his statement, letting it stay open-ended, like a semicolon that is just begging for another clause to finish the sentence.  Barry takes this as a cue that it’s okay to leave, and to Ross’s surprise, he moves forward to embrace Ross with a quick hug.

“I’m sorry that I can’t be the person you want me to be.  I hope that whatever it is you and your friend are looking for, I hope that you find it.”

Ross swears up and down that his eyes aren’t starting to sting, and if they are it’s because something flew into his eye.  This is it, he really isn’t going to see Barry again.  Barry isn’t going to contact them, Ross is going to have to go back to the hotel room and face Arin and tell him of his failure and how they are never going to see the return to their real world.

“Yeah,” Ross says quietly, pulling away from the embrace before Barry even intended the hug to end.  “Right.  Of course.”  He doesn’t mean to sound indignant, but he just feels so damn defeated.  “Have a nice time doing…whatever it is you do.  Editing right?  I assume so, I don’t know what you would do if you weren’t on Game Grumps.”

“Game Grumps?” Barry repeats, narrowing his eyes, and for a second, Ross swears there’s a spark of recognition.  But then it disappears as Barry remembers that he is supposed to be on his way somewhere.  “Anyway, it was really nice to meet you…hey I don’t think I caught your name.”

“Ross.  It’s…it’s Ross.”  He knows it’s risky to keep hoping that maybe, just maybe Barry will actually get too curious not to contact him.  He knows it’s a shitty idea to keep wishing that things will go the way Ross wants them to, especially since he knows his luck and it’s not very good.  But he still keeps a little shred of hope deep within his heart that the younger bloke won’t let this be the very last time they see each other.

“Ross.  Take care of yourself, okay?” One more small smile from Barry and he is on his way, leaving Ross feeling empty and unsure of himself.  Where does he even go from here?  His excitement for exploring the rest of the galleries in SoHo just went out the window now that he knows happiness was just underneath his fingertips and escaped like smoke dissipating from an open flame.  And so Ross retreats back to the hotel room, hoping that Arin would have better news and maybe a devious plan or two up his sleeve.

He falls asleep at 10pm clutching his phone to his chest, with no word from Arin yet.  At exactly 1:24 am, a soft “ding” emanates from his phone, signaling a new e-mail.  But Ross is sleeping too soundly to even hear it, and simply rolls onto his side, his phone falling to the carpeted floor beside the queen-sized bed.


	4. Barry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry isn't the most patient guy, which sucks considering he has too much time on his hands. Somehow he has managed to get himself tangled into a mess that is much bigger than he originally anticipated. But something deep down is urging him not to turn this newcomer named Ross away. What harm could it possibly bring?
> 
> When it comes to Ross and Arin? Apparently a lot. A buttload of harm, in fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may or may not have run away from me, but I have no regrets.
> 
> Also even though each chapter has been a new person's POV the next one is going to go back to Arin again, but we will see some new POV's again eventually!

This isn’t exactly what Barry had imagined his life would be like.  After graduating from Gallatin, he had been tinkering around with editing videos, but his real passion lies within video games, specifically in designing them.  At least, he’s pretty sure that’s what he wants to do, eventually, help out with an indie designer.

And then he runs into a complete stranger on the street and suddenly his whole life has shifted.  Someone who actually knew his name, who insisted that Barry knew him as well.  Playing games, he had mentioned.  What kind of games, Barry isn’t sure, yet somehow something inside him yearned to find out more.

Regardless of how tempting Ross’s words had been at the time, Barry had been running late for his grad school class, having decided to continue studying in New York in hopes that maybe, just maybe adding another degree to his name would make him a force to be reckoned with in this world of competition.  But all throughout the class, Barry can’t shake the thought that maybe Ross and his friend…Arin was it?  Maybe they are supposed to be friends.

Or maybe this is some huge mistake.  Maybe he’s about to be pranked, or worse, conned out of a lot of money.  There are a lot of shady people around the city, right?  Or so he heard.

 _E-mail him_ , Barry’s subconscious kept urging him.  _What’s the worst that can happen?  You grant them an audience and then explain that you’re not interested anymore._

Barry caves, eventually.  But the internal battle between him and his subconscious rages on, even when he’s supposed to be hanging around with his friends, and it’s clear that he’s barely paying attention to the shenanigans that are going on around him.  He makes up excuses, because how is he supposed to explain that his mind has been enraptured by a pair of blue eyes and the man they belong to?  It should be more alarming, the fact that he can’t stop thinking about Ross.  There’s something so very familiar about him, but he cannot place where he could possibly know him.

He wants to google Ross’s name, but is worried about the results he will get.  Mostly, he is worried that he is being taken for a fool, that this is all part of a ploy after all.

It’s not enough to convince him that he shouldn’t e-mail Ross.  And so he types up an e-mail and hesitates to hit send for an hour, glancing over each word for spelling and grammar errors, less Ross think any less of Barry.

_Ross,_

_I’m sorry if I ran off too hastily earlier.  I’m not sure what it is you and your friend are seeking from me, but if there is a chance that I fit into your puzzle, then I will grant you an audience.  I’m sorry, that sounds really dumb.  Fuck it, I’m keeping it.  Are you sure you want me, a giant loser, to join you?  Clearly I’m just gonna disappoint you with my cheesiness._

_Right, back to the point.  Where was I?  Anyway, I’m free tomorrow.  If you and your friend want to meet me somewhere, let me know what time and I will be there._

_You knew my name.  That must mean something, right?  I’m willing to give you a chance because I need to know how you know my name and if there’s something more for me out there than this._

_Have a good night.  And sorry again.  I promise I’m not always this much of a douche._

_Your friend,_

_Barry_

The amount of times Barry had considered starting over is innumerous.  He had considered forgetting about it completely, that there can’t be any way that this will have a good outcome for him.

All that is left now is hitting send.  Barry looks at the clock, startled to see that it’s past 1am – has he really been writing this goddamn e-mail for that long? – but realizes that if he doesn’t press send now he won’t ever hit the button.  So he hovers his cursor over the send button, closes his eyes, and presses down on the left mouse button.  The whoosh of the send notification indicates that it sent and now all that is left is waiting.

And waiting...and waiting…and Barry knows this is the part that is going to be the worst, is the anticipation of a response from Ross.

And why does he even care so much?  So what if Ross doesn’t respond, right?  Barry will just continue about his life and Ross will be nothing more than an anomaly in a world filled with imperfections.

But Barry knows this memory will nag at him for decades if he doesn’t get to the bottom of this.  It’s too late for a response now, so Barry resigns himself to sleeping, hoping that maybe the morning will bring him the outcome he is looking for.  It’s honestly a miracle that Barry gets any sleep, with how much anxiety from not knowing and anticipating is running through his veins.  But, he does get some sleep, mediocre as it was.

Barry shoots upright as if it’s Christmas morning, and he knows it’s pathetic when the first thing he looks at is his phone.  Disappointed when he sees there’s no response, he realizes that it is, in fact, eight a.m. and most civilized people are still asleep.  So, there is still hope.  But what on earth can Barry do to kill the time until he should be expected to put on pants and perhaps meet up with these two strangers who apparently know who he is.

He ends up turning to video games.  Which isn’t at all surprising, since that is something he enjoys quite a bit, is a big portion of what his master’s program is dedicated to, and may or may not be what brings him and Ross together.

His phone is propped up for optimal viewing, so that Barry can be damn well sure that an incoming e-mail is the first thing he notices.  Barry isn’t exactly the most popular person, but the amount of non-Ross-email-related notifications are driving him nuts.  Where the fuck is this guy and why hasn’t he responded?

He rereads the e-mail, makes sure that the e-mail address is correct.  There isn’t any obvious reason why he might be ignoring Barry…in fact after the way Ross pleaded with Barry yesterday, he is really shocked that there hasn’t been a response yet.

This is ridiculous and Barry knows it.  The last he left it with Ross, there is no reason why he should be giddy over the possibility that he will see Ross again.  So he is puzzled as to where all of this is coming from.  Maybe he will be better off if Ross ignores his e-mail and-

And it is at exactly 10:35 a.m. when that e-mail notification dings and Barry races to unlock his phone to see who the sender is.  In unmistakable bold print **Ross O’Donovan <rubberninja@gmail.com> **is displayed on his screen and, oh fuck, Barry recognizes that feeling of butterflies and curses it immediately.

_Barry,_

_I’m going to be honest, I did not expect to see an e-mail from you when I woke up this morning.  And I swear to you, it would have gotten a response much earlier if my mobile hadn’t gone missing at the most inconvenient of times._

_I’ll keep this short.  It looks like it will just be me meeting you, long story.  I’ve texted Arin but have yet to actually get a response.  Wanna meet at my hotel this afternoon at 3pm?  There’s a Starbucks right next door to it, we can grab a coffee and sit in the lobby or something.  Maybe I will actually get a hold of my friend and he will join me, but for now I can only guarantee my presence._

_And I can also guarantee you that you are by far not the only cheesy person out there.  You’ll fit in with us, in fact._

_Please let me know if you’ll be there so I don’t sit around in Starbucks like an asshole.  I’ll give you the address once you assure me you’ll be there._

_Yours truly,_

_Ross_

_P.S._

_Friend, huh?  ;)_

Barry ignores the burning red of his cheeks and rereads the email several times to make sure he absorbs all the content.  Okay, he can do this.  He can _totally_ do this.  He isn’t sure if he’s relieved or disappointed that this Arin guy won’t be joining Ross, at least as of right now.  When he mulls it over further he realizes he is neither, and in fact concerned that apparently Arin isn’t responding.

It’s actually a lot more concern than Barry has ever felt for, well, pretty much anyone in his current group of friends.

But now is not the time to worry about someone he doesn’t actually know.  And so he lets Ross focus on the disappearing Arin problem and works on writing Ross back, letting him know that yes, he will be there, and that he hopes he finds his friend but that he will be there even if Arin can’t make it.

Three p.m.  Starbucks.  Fuck, now he needs to find something else to fill the void of time until then.

Barry sighs and retreats to his computer, where he brings up his latest project for school.  It’s not the most interesting assignment, but it will serve as a halfway decent distraction until it’s time to disembark for Ross’s hotel.

One last ding from Ross tells him the name and location of the hotel as well as assures him that he is doing his best to locate Arin and not to worry about it yet.  Barry isn’t sure if Ross is just telling him this so he won’t be freaking out on Ross’s account or what, but that concern from earlier is starting to creep back to the surface.  Why does he care so much about Arin?  About someone he has never _met_?  Why does he suddenly feel as if he’s known Ross a lot longer than one day?  What is about all of this that feels so familiar?

Barry only hopes that talking to Ross will clear this up.

The wait until three p.m. is one of the most painfully slow experiences Barry can ever remember.  If time flies when you’re having fun, then time apparently also slows the fuck down when you know you’re about to experience something wonderful and life-changing.  But finally, it’s time for Barry to leave and navigate his way towards the address that Ross had given him, which is conveniently all the way across town.  Figures, but at least it also means that Barry has to leave earlier than three p.m., making it just a little bit less painful than it could have been.

Let’s face it, Barry would have just showed up earlier than three if that were the case.

When Barry walks into the Starbucks, Ross is already there, waiting for him.  The way Ross’s eyes light up when he spots Barry is enough to warm Barry’s heart, although he tries his damnedest to ignore that reaction.  No matter how much he knows he can’t control the way his body reacts and goddammit, that feeling isn’t going away anytime soon now, is it.

“Barry, so nice of you to join me,” Ross stands up to greet him, and holds out a hand to greet him.  On the one hand, he could simply greet Ross with a handshake, as he is being offered right now.  Or he could say fuck it and…

He doesn’t even need to finish that sentence in his head because he knows what he is going to choose.  He pulls Ross into a hug as if he had known him for years.  Although according to Ross it sounds like they have, somehow.  Barry isn’t exactly sure how that is supposed to work.

“So, still no sign of your friend?” Barry asks, concerned.  He knows the concern in his voice betrays him; he knows he has been far more worried about Arin than someone with no ties to the guy really should have.

Ross studies him, and Barry tries his damnedest not to squirm under the scrutiny.  Luckily, Ross doesn’t keep his eyes on Barry for too long and starts wandering over to the line to order a beverage, so Barry follows him.

“He answered me a couple of hours ago, said he would be around eventually.  Unfortunately I don’t really know how to explain all of this.  Arin experienced the brunt of this…displacement.”  Ross appears to be fumbling over his words, and it is clear he feels lost without his friend to do most of the talking.  Still, Barry tries to keep an open mind, because there is clearly something weird going on here and maybe Ross can at least pinpoint something that will make sense to Barry.

“Try me,” Barry urges him to continue, curious as to how Barry could possibly fit into this weirdness.

“Arin woke up the other morning, talking about all this nonsense about how his world was all wrong.  How he was married to a woman named Suzy and how we were all part of this comedy gaming company called Game Grumps.”  He pauses so that they can both order their drinks.  It isn’t until they both have their orders and retire back to the lobby of the hotel when he considers continuing.

“When I didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about, he insisted we track down everyone, starting with this Danny Sexbang guy… _yeah I know_ what a weird fucking name, right _?_ He apparently lives here in New York and played a show last night with his band.  That’s where Arin was.  No, I don’t know why we didn’t try to track down Suzy and no, I don’t know why Arin didn’t come home last night, because trust me I am confused about the two of those myself.”

Barry can come up with some ideas for both, but he doesn’t say any of them out loud.  He doesn’t really know Arin at all, no matter how much it feels like he does.  Besides, he doesn’t think Ross is finished with his explanation yet.

“Well while he was going to the concert I decided to wander around and get some hot touristy action because, well, how often do you get to be in this glorious city with all its galleries?  That’s where you factor in.  I didn’t think much of Arin’s theories at all, but then I bumped into you.  And then, well, everything _changed_ and suddenly I believed in him.  As crazy as it sounds, Arin was right, this world isn’t right at all.  I know you, Barry, we’re friends and I don’t want to live in a world where you’re just another person in this universe.”

It’s a lot to take in, really, and by the end of Ross’s spiel, Barry’s head is most definitely spinning with overstimulation.  But the odd thing is, it doesn’t sound completely crazy.  There are pieces to it that resonate with Barry, especially the idea that he might actually have some sort of friendship with Ross.  Danny Sexbang, too, that name sounded familiar, as weird as it was.  But he still isn’t completely convinced.  Not enough to follow Ross into whatever adventure is planned next, at least.

“Wow,” Barry begins, running both his hands through his mostly-tamed beard, trying to formulate a response that won’t completely push Ross away.  He needs to be truthful, but that doesn’t mean he needs to be dismissive.  “This is honestly a lot for me to process right now.  And I’m not sure what it is you want from me.  I live here.  This is my home, I’m still taking classes.  You said you’re a tourist in this city.  I can’t exactly uproot my life to follow you, Ross.”  He hates the disappointed look that’s on Ross’s face immediately and wishes he could take back his words.  But he can’t, and he knows he has to live with it.

“No, you’re right.  I can’t expect you to do anything.  I just hoped…I don’t know, maybe after you heard what I had to say that you might remember like I remembered.  I don’t know what it is about you, Barry but you brought me back to reality.  My reality, at least.  Arin didn’t do that.”  Ross focuses more on the drink he is working on than Barry, and Barry feels a guilt he wishes would go away.  It would be a hell of a lot easier to just walk away if he didn’t care so goddamn much.  Why does he care so goddamn much?

“Look, I…this isn’t easy, you can’t just expect –“

Barry is cut off though, as in comes stumbling someone who Barry has never met and yet he knows exactly who he is.  _Arin_ , Barry’s mind screams out, because of course it is.  But he’s not alone.  Accompanying him is, well, the person that is causing Arin to stumble so inelegantly, as Arin is trying without much success to keep Danny stable and upright.

“I need help getting him up to our room.”  Arin sounds exhausted, and Barry idly wonders just what happened to the both of them between when Ross had apparently parted ways up to this point.  Arin has directed his plea to Ross, although he turns to Barry, and the way Arin’s eyes widen, the way he looks at Barry, it seems like all of his previous preoccupations vanish out the window when he fixates on him.  “Jesus fucking Christ, _Barry_?  Is it really you?  Ross, how in the hell…?”

The small smile that Ross gives Arin in return is like a kick in the gut, because Barry knows Ross is more concerned with the state in which this other guy that Arin has been in charge of.  Although Barry is a newcomer in this world of drama, he has enough insight to understand the nuances of this friendship.  At least, Barry supposes to himself, he _thinks_ he understands.  But perhaps there is much more to this than meets the eye.

“It’s a long story.  One that is best reserved for getting your friend up to our hotel room, yeah?  Barry, this is Arin by the way.  The one I told you about.”  Ross moves to the other side of Arin to keep a hold of Danny, who looks completely out of it.

“Hi Barry, I…guess we have a lot of explaining to do, huh?” Arin holds out a hand for Barry to take, and he sees two choices in front of him:

Either he can back out now and resume his life or he can accept that he is now entangled in this story and let it take him wherever he is supposed to go.  Barry stares at Arin’s hand and for a moment surprises himself by actually considering walking away.  But he is much too curious, and so he accepts the hand.

_He’s sitting on the couch next to Danny and Ross and they’re playing some stupidly awful game.  Ross’s hand sits idly on Barry’s knee and Danny’s hand laid on his shoulder.  Of course, Steam Train, how could he forget?_

_Ross.  That devilish grin of his, his partner in crime._

_And Suzy!  With her honesty and sweet smiles.  Old timey clothes and board games, cameras capturing all angles._

_And always finding more ways for Ross to come on Table Flip._

_Ross...who is married to Holly._

Fuck.  Barry remembers now, of course he fucking remembers now.  But he doesn’t want to remember.  He wants to take all of that back.  Ignorance is bliss, right?  Harboring an intense crush on your co-worker who is happily married to one of the prettiest, sassiest, loveliest women he knows.

When he opens his eyes, it’s Arin’s eyes that are staring back.  For that, Barry is grateful.  He doesn’t know if he can look at Ross without feeling completely empty inside right now.

“Egoraptor,” Barry murmurs, softly, to which Arin practically squeals out, “ _You do remember._ ”

All the while, Ross stays silent, taking note of the way Barry’s recognition came not from him, but from Arin.

It’s not until they reach the hotel room that Barry dares to look at Ross, when he is sure that it is safe.  But it’s too late, because Ross’s back is to Barry, and he excuses himself to the bathroom.  And so the moment has passed, and Barry wonders to himself how the hell he allowed himself to get in this mess.

 _Focus on your friend you little shit, he needs your help_.  Right.  Danny.  His own problems could wait.  For now, he would put all of his effort into helping Danny, into helping Arin help Danny.  Then…well maybe he could help Ross find Holly, right?  At least then one of them could be happy.

Then maybe Barry could answer the question that he is still mulling over: _Where do I fit into all of this?_


	5. Arin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confronting Dan with the truth of this whole mission of his could have gone a lot more horribly wrong. But there's always room for the universe to prove to Arin that it's really just a bag of dicks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the suggestion of one of my readers, I fixed a couple of things with the last chapter. Thanks for pointing the consistency issues out to me, please don't be afraid to bring that stuff to me! Most of the time I'm only in my own head and don't have an outsider to remind me.
> 
> P.S. I'm also posting all of these chapters to my tumblr at blacksvnrise. Come say hi! And if you happen to leave prompts I just might fulfill them in between updating this fic :)

To say that the entire night has been a whirlwind would be an understatement.  From the moment he arrived at the Music Hall of Williamsburg up until this very moment, Arin has felt like an eternity has crawled by, and yet it has only been a handful of hours.  The main act is still playing and Arin can vaguely hear it, but he is more concerned with where Dan has run off to.

The door is thankfully not locked to get back into the venue.  Arin is not at all prepared for New York winters; California doesn’t get nearly that cold, although on occasion the temperatures have been known to creep down low enough for snow.

Would Dan come back?  Arin has no idea if he should even bother waiting around; for all he knows Dan has already made it home even if he is probably supposed to be helping loading equipment in whatever van or truck they have set aside.  Just as he begins to contemplate defeat and leaving for the hotel, the back door opens again and there is Dan, looking at Arin with such a fearful expression that Arin feels guilty as fuck.

 _You caused this, you dick_.

But is there really any point in beating himself up?  How much regret should he be feeling when the hope that maybe Dan is beginning to remember shit is overpowering all other potential problems?

And okay, maybe Arin is just a tiny bit selfish.  He wants Dan back… _his_ Dan.  Not the hollow shell of a person the Dan from this world has apparently become.

“I forgot my wallet,” Dan states, pointing towards the green room.  He starts to make his way past Arin, brushing past him ever so slightly.  The urge to stop Dan with a hand around his wrist is so tempting, but he keeps his hands to himself.

Apparently Arin doesn’t need to do any such thing though, as Dan stops of his own volition and turns to face Arin.  It isn’t until now, when Arin can actually see Dan with better lighting, that he realizes just how absolutely dejected and exhausted his friend looks.  Arin’s heart breaks a little, and he wishes there were more he could do to help him.

“I’m going to regret this…do you want to come with me?” Dan clenches his eyes closed, as if regretting the invitation as soon as he gave it.

Arin wants to decline, let Dan get some rest, but he also doesn’t know how long he is going to be able to stay in New York and this might be his only chance to reach out to Dan, to convince him that he should place his trust in Arin and that things will go back to normal.

But what even is normal to Dan?  Maybe, if nothing else, he can learn more about this Dan, see if there’s any spark of the Dan he knows and maybe even loves (although he will never own up to that, thank you very much).  And maybe with this knowledge he will understand how his reality ceased to be.

This would all be a hell of a lot easier if fucking Brian were here with his PhD and his high IQ.  Arin idly wonders what Brian is doing without the ridiculousness of Ninja Sex Party to make really good use of his degree.

“If it’s not too much trouble.”  Arin tries to remain as polite and undemanding as possible.  He knows he can be intense and judging by how tired Dan looks that is the last thing his friend needs right now.

“Then let’s go.”

Once Dan retrieves his wallet, the two walk in mostly silence the whole way to the subway.  Arin tries to fill in the silences, avoiding the sensitive subject of what happened back at the music venue and focusing on easier subjects, like how he thought the show went and how Skyhill’s slight fame was pretty outstanding.  The conversation is maybe a little bit forced, but Arin is trying with all his might.  It’s hard when really all Arin wants to ask is what happened to Dan to make him so…empty.

It seems like hours have passed by the time the two arrive at Dan’s sizable loft.  Arin is taken aback; he hasn’t realized Skyhill was doing _this well_.

Again, that guilt hits him again.  This is a hundred times nicer than the apartment Dan would be sharing with Barry.  _But_ , Arin reminds himself, _Dan is so much happier even with the smaller abode._

“Wow, you’ve got a really nice place,” Arin comments cheerfully, glancing at Dan for some sort of response.  The small smile is almost too miniscule, but Arin notes it before it disappears again.

“Thanks, I got it after the last album went gold.”  Dan shrugs, turning on a few lights here and there, but not bothering to give Arin much of a tour.  Arin is too busy studying every nook and cranny himself.  “You were going to tell me something before I ran off.  I thought this might be a better environment for that kind of conversation.”

Dan does have a point; the loud music and crowded atmosphere is not the best place to have such an insane discussion.  Arin appreciates that Dan is willing to hear Arin out, even though he guesses this is the last thing Dan wants to be doing right now.

“I was,” Arin confirms, scanning the layout of the apartment for the best room to talk in.  He finds the living room, with its comfortable furniture to be the most ideal, and takes a seat on one of the couches.  Dan follows suit, leaving a little bit of distance between them.  Arin remembers how Dan used to leave that distance at first.  After growing closer and getting to know each other, their boundaries dissipated and their grump sessions devolved into practically melting into each other.

Arin misses that feeling of being nestled up against Dan so much, he aches to reach out and pull Dan closer but has to remind himself that this Dan doesn’t even know who he is, much less want anything to do with him physically.

Maybe with time and an explanation.

“Like I said before, this is going to sound crazy.  But with the way you ran off before I’m wondering if maybe it won’t sound as crazy as it would have before.  Where I come from?  You and I…we’re friends.  Really good friends.  And we record videos for a YouTube channel and record music together.  We have a band called Starbomb, we play parody songs with nerdy video game references.  I woke up one morning and everything changed.  You weren’t in my life anymore, Game Grumps didn’t exist anymore, neither did Starbomb.  So I set out to make things right again.  To find you, to find the rest of my friends that were no longer in my life, and to figure out why this is happening and how I can go back.”  Considering Arin hadn’t rehearsed any of that, he is impressed with himself that he didn’t completely get derailed.  He knows it sounds like a load of bullshit and he doesn’t expect Dan to believe him, but he’s still hopeful.

Of course, the whole time Arin was speaking, he watched Dan closely for any sort of reaction.  There were little things, like how his eyes lit up at the mention of Starbomb.  But he still tries not to hold out too much hope, lest it be dashed away as quickly as it built itself up.

Dan clears his throat and drags his fingers through his hair, likely collecting his thoughts as he considers Arin’s explanation.  Arin, meanwhile, is practically on the edge of his seat with anticipation.  Maybe, just maybe whatever happened back at the music venue would help Dan open up to Arin’s idea.

“What if you aren’t supposed to go back?” Dan asks slowly, to which Arin is surprised.  Out of everything he had just said, he didn’t expect Dan to focus in on that.  “What if you _can’t_ go back and you’re stuck in this place?  Arin, I made a commitment to my band, to Peter.  You can’t expect me to leave that all behind and run off with you based on some crackpot theory that might not even come true.  Then we’d really be fucked because dammit, this band pays my bills and if I lose this, I lose everything!” Dan doesn’t notice his voice has gotten progressively shriller and shriller as he continued to respond, and by the end of it, he is tugging at his hair in frustration.

Arin lets all of Dan’s retort sink in, ignoring that shard of guilt and regret that’s still tearing into him even more because he is the cause of this anguish, isn’t he?  Well, maybe he’s not _fully_ responsible for that.  He recalls hearing Dan talk about his past while recording episodes.  But he had conquered his demons in that other life.  What if Dan just never emerged victorious in this one?

With a stupid determination on his face, he takes a chance to move closer to Dan, only a little bit to give Dan the opportunity to pull back if he isn’t ready for the closed distance just yet.  He reaches his hand out to rest on Dan’s knee, waiting for a reaction from Dan as to whether he would accept the touch or reject it.  When Dan doesn’t recoil, Arin takes that as a sign that it’s okay.

“But are you happy?  Does this band, does living here alone, does that make you happy?” Arin treads cautiously, because he knows he can’t really guarantee that this Dan will be any happier with Arin, especially if he is just taking his baggage with him.  Still, it’s worth a shot…right?

Dan glances down at the hand on his knee and then back at Arin, as if contemplating why he doesn’t mind that touch.  He bites at his lip and after a moment’s contemplation, throws his head backwards and finally _relaxes_ against the couch.

“I love recording music.  I love singing it on stage.  I love Peter, he’s like a brother to me, don’t get me wrong.  And when I’m up on stage, I feel incredible.  But then the set’s over and I’m left with the biggest withdrawal and nothing can conquer that.  Something’s missing, I’ve always felt it.  But I could never figure it out.”  He pauses before turning to face Arin, this time letting him be the one to scoot closer and close more of the distance.  “Then you fucking come along and I’m fucking seeing shit that never happened and yet it _felt_ like it did.  And for that moment I wanted nothing more than to be on a plane to California to record dumb shit with you but I _can’t_ , Arin.”

“Why can’t you?” Arin challenges, trying his hardest not to let his stubbornness turn into anger.  He knows that he and Dan can be obstinate when forced to confront each other.  He doesn’t want this to turn into a fight, he simply wants to prove to Dan that he doesn’t need to feel like he is stuck in a world where he is truly not happy.  “I dropped out of high school, and in my world I managed to chase my dreams and find success in what I loved doing.  Sure, maybe it won’t happen in this world, but if it’s possible, why not try?  Why be miserable when you might actually have the shot at something that means something to you, that will make you feel fulfilled?”

Dan groans and pulls away from Arin, that touching moment gone in a flash as he curls in on himself in frustration.  “You’re right, I know you’re right, but it’s not easy,” he mumbles into his hands, which are currently covering his face and muffling his speech.  “I’m gonna have to sleep on this though because fuck if I can make any kind of life-changing decisions on three hours of sleep.”

Progress was made at least, Arin contends, and he withdraws his hands to let Dan do as he wished.  He can’t expect Dan to agree to something that could potentially ruin his musical career in one night.  Even though Arin is insistent that it will only do wonderful things for Dan’s musical career, but that is for another night.

“Right, do you want me to go back to my ho-”

“No!” Dan shouts suddenly and it throws Arin for a loop.  He sort of figured Dan would want an excuse to get rid of him.  Maybe he has misjudged his friend.  “No, you can take the pullout couch.  I’ll be in the bedroom.”  He points down the hall where there are a couple of doors.  “I’ll see you in the morning, dude.”  Dan playfully punches Arin in the shoulder, and for a moment it’s like nothing changed.  Because for that moment, the two of them looked at each other and it felt like they could read each other’s thoughts.

And maybe Arin longs for Dan to change his mind and let him into his bedroom, and maybe Dan has considered it – his knee still feels warm from Arin’s touch – but the words remain unsaid.  So Dan retreats back into his bedroom and Arin surrenders to the loneliness of the living room, falling asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

And all the while, Arin’s cell phone remains in his back pocket, switched off and forgotten.


	6. Dan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although Barry and Ross seem to be accepting of Arin's world, Dan isn't as eager to jump into it. Can you blame him though? After all, Dan isn't the person Arin wants him to be, and he never will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry this took so long. Work has been draining me and I lost a bit of motivation for a while (and also got obsessed with and completed my first playthrough of Undertale in that time period but that's a completely different story) but I finally committed to finishing this chapter. I had to scrap it once as it was just not coming out the way I wanted to and was dragging on too much. The ending of the chapter feels a little rushed but I was having trouble getting it to end around the same spot that Barry's chapter ended. But I FINISHED IT FINALLY so hopefully now I will be able to get back onto somewhat of a better posting schedule.
> 
> WARNING: There is some mention of drug use towards the end of the chapter so please proceed with caution.

When Dan wakes up the next morning, he feels as if his head is splitting into two.  It’s a feeling he has had before - after a night of heavy drinking – but considering he went to sleep delightfully sober he isn’t sure what caused the dull, persistent ache.  Then he remembers that there is a guest sleeping in the other room and everything about the previous evening comes back to the surface, which includes the memories of another world where he and this guest apparently play video games together.

As much as Dan loves playing with Skyhill, he has to admit Arin’s vision sounds pretty pleasant.  Would video games be something Dan would have ever considered building a career around?  Not…really, but he has enjoyed video games for most of his life.  Even – no, _especially_ the simplistic games.  The fact that something like Super Mario Bros has evolved from a simple platformer into the franchise that it is today is incredibly special.

Dan only wishes there were a way to balance the world Arin desires with the one Dan is living.  He knows deep down it is the fear of change and of the unknown that is holding him back, but Dan also isn’t one to take too many risks.  Maybe Arin’s Dan was bolder, who knows, but he isn’t Arin’s Dan and Arin cannot expect him to be someone he isn’t.

As time passes, Dan allows his mind to wander back to the events of last night.  Of the two of them sitting on the couch and how comfortable he felt with someone who he had just technically met.  He hasn’t had any more flashes of memories since then, which fills Dan somewhat with curiosity.  He finds himself questioning what Arin would have been like in this world, had this other Arin never crossed over into this other world.  Is he in Arin’s world right now having a similar existential crisis?

And what is it that Arin stands to gain from getting his group of friends together anyway?  What will happen to this world after they’re reunited?  Will Arin simply go back to the world he is from and fade from this world’s existence?

Will he leave them all alone?

Why does Dan suddenly feel as if a weight has been placed atop his chest, making it difficult to breathe?  He tries to dash these thoughts away and focus on the problem at hand.  He has a guest in the other room, a guest who intends to convince Dan that he should abandon his own commitments in favor of something completely new.  And Dan…as much as he hates to admit it, he wants to know more.  Arin has opened up this whole new world to him, a Pandora’s Box has been opened and now that all of these thoughts and feelings have flooded outwards, there is no way to contain them once again and  go back to the way things used to be.

So…that’s that, then, right?  He has made his decision.  He can’t for the life of him say no to Arin, not completely anyway.  But he has to talk to Pete first, make some arrangements for the band’s sake.  He can’t walk away, god forbid his worst fears are realized and Arin disappears in the end.  He needs to have that backup plan.  Although…at least if Arin is gone these people that Arin mentioned, they wouldn’t be gone, right?  Maybe they would all be able to help each other.

Somehow thinking about all of these things helped his headache to fade away, although there is still a dull reminder and…maybe Dan should check the medicine cabinet to see if he still has any aspirin in there because this fucking pain doesn’t seem like it wants to go completely away anytime soon.  It isn’t like he can keep delaying the inevitable for much longer.  Sooner or later he will have to get up out of bed.

One foot onto the floor followed by the other one, and finally Dan is upright.  That dull ache only increased and spread from his head down his spine, increasing the need for any sort of painkiller to work its magic.  A grunting noise escapes his lips as he forces himself to the bathroom, fumbling through the cabinet that he rarely ever opens and finds the bottle that he’s looking for.  Thankfully the vial of pills has not expired and so he manages to open the childproof lid and popped one into his mouth, filling a cup with water to wash it down with.  Now that he’s on his feet, as shitty as he feels, Dan knows it’s time to face the truth that is waiting for him out in the living room.

Maybe Arin will still be asleep and he can procrastinate for a little longer…

Yeah, no, that is a fucking awful idea and Dan knows it.  He creeps his way into the living room, not wishing to wake Arin if he truly is still asleep.  But when he gets to the couch, he notices that Arin’s back is to him and he appears to be checking his phone.  Dan pauses, unsure if he should give Arin some indication that he is there, and in the end he just winds up standing there, observing.  Which…is, now that he thinks of it, really fucking weird.

So, he clears his throat, which causes Arin to spin around quickly, the eagerness in Arin’s actions not at all lost to Dan.  All he can do is smile; for the moment the seriousness of the situation that is before the two of them is lost.  Arin looks almost childlike the way he gazes up at Dan.  And then a sharp pang of guilt hits Dan as he realizes that Arin is probably missing _his_ friend Dan, not the one that happens to be standing in front of him.

This situation is about ten different kinds of fucked up.

“So, uh.  I’ve given some thought to what you said last night.  I said I would sleep on it and I have, so it’s only fair I tell you what’s going on.  I…” he trails off as that anxiety crops up again and he panics, thinking about all the ways this could possibly fuck Dan over.  And then he thinks about how warm he felt last night with Arin next to him, how pleasant that was.  “I don’t know what you need me to do but I will talk to Peter about putting the band on hiatus while we figure this out.  I need him to be on board with me.  You know, in case…”  _In case you fuck us over, in case this was all a big mistake, in case you get your happy ending and I’m stuck here all alone._

He doesn’t say any of the possibilities that are running through his head, causing his head to split open even further.  Instead, he leaves that open-ended.  He has a feeling Arin knows exactly what Dan is thinking.

“I respect that and of course.  I wouldn’t ask you to do anything that would screw over your current commitments,” Arin pulls his legs off the couch, leaving a vacant seat for Dan to sit in.  As much of a bad idea as Dan’s conscience is telling him, he opts to take the spot on the couch, feeling that familiar warmth once more.  “I just want for you to be happy, Dan.  I don’t see you as being particularly happy here.”

Although he doesn’t want to admit it, Arin is correct.  Dan isn’t all that happy with his current lifestyle.  Even with financial security there is something missing but for whatever reason Dan was never able to figure out how to fill that void.  Maybe Arin’s version of Dan figured that out.  And for that reason, Dan felt a confusing amount of jealousy for a person that he never knew existed.

“I’m…not.”  Somehow, saying it out loud and admitting it to himself, not even just to Arin, lifts an enormous amount of pressure and it feels easier to breathe.  “But I need to know that putting my life, my future in your hands…I need to know that I can trust you and that you won’t turn your back on me once you have what you want.”

The reaction he gets from Arin is furrowed eyebrows and a quizzical look.

“I’m not sure I follow.  Why would I turn my back on you?”

And this is where Dan hits a road block because he doesn’t know how to explain his trepidations with everything Arin is asking of him.

“You think that reuniting all of us will get you back to your world or something, right?  But what happens to all of us when you’re gone?” Dan averts his eyes, focusing in on the rug on the ground as if it happens to be the most interesting thing in the room right now.  Anything is better than seeing how Arin reacts to Dan’s inner worries.

“You really think that’s what I want?” Arin’s voice sounds almost sad and Dan isn’t sure if he should be feeling guilty or apathetic, but it does make him feel a little like a dick that he apparently misjudged Arin.  “I don’t want to abandon you guys.  You felt something last night…had a glimpse of memories, right?  So I think I’m supposed to be bringing you all together.  I don’t know what will happen when I do but I don’t want to leave you guys behind when that happens.  I…may not have a choice though.”

Dan still refuses to look at Arin because this whole conversation is painful and he isn’t even sure _why_.  He literally just met this guy and already he is thinking of completely changing his life and following this guy into whatever adventure is ahead of them…and now he’s worried that after all is said and done he’s going to disappear like nothing ever happened.

“I don’t know what you want, Arin,” Dan admits and decides to take the risk to see the expression on Arin’s face – a face that appears to be laced with confusion and desire.  Dan stays still when Arin starts to move closer to him, but hey, he also doesn’t move backwards so that’s something, right?  And when did it get more difficult to breathe, anyway?  “Why don’t you _show_ me what you want since apparently you’re kind of shit at telling me.”

Dan really doesn’t know what he expected to come of that challenge, but it certainly isn’t this: Arin’s hand on his shoulder, Arin’s other hand against his cheek, their faces mere inches apart.  In another universe, maybe Dan would have pulled away or shoved Arin off.  But Dan selfishly craves this attention, can’t remember the last time anyone wanted to show him affection like this.  Not to mention from the moment those strange memories appeared in his head he couldn’t shake the feeling like he cared an enormous amount of… _something_ for this guy.

And yet, Arin isn’t leaning in any closer, and Dan is too chicken shit to make the first move.  Are they even together in Arin’s world?  Is that why Arin is so intent on getting Dan to follow him across the country?

When Arin sighs, defeated and pulls back to collapse on his end of the couch, Dan watches him with that same curiosity from earlier.  He isn’t sure he understands what is going through Arin’s brain right now, but he feels like he is maybe starting to see where Arin is coming from a little clearer.

“I’m sorry,” Arin mumbles and Dan can’t tear his eyes away from him.  He wants so much to understand what Arin is going through.  He tries to imagine it, waking up in a world that is very much not his own, where his friends don’t know who he is.  It’s almost impossible to imagine, but trying to put his shoes in Arin’s does help a little bit.

“You don’t have to…I mean.  You’re just scared because you don’t know what’s supposed to happen.”  Dan isn’t used to being the stable, reassuring one, so this is new territory for him.  Still, he feels the urge to make Arin feel less scared.  It just seems like something he should do.  “Why don’t you tell me what your Dan is like?  Like…I got glimpses but the whole picture isn’t there.”

Arin turns to face Dan and there is that inquisitive look from earlier.  It causes Dan to smile and…okay maybe Dan finds that look on Arin kinda cute.  Which should be weirder to Dan considering he never really took the time to think about guys like this.  Maybe Arin is just different.

 “You…My Dan I mean…he wasn’t the first person to record videos with me.  I started off with someone else but he left to pursue his own hopes and dreams so you took over for him on my show.  You became my best friend and it fucking sucks not having him here when I need him most.  He always knew what to do to make me laugh when we were recording and he put up with so much of my shit that he must have been a goddamn saint.  I came after you first because I knew Game Grumps just wouldn’t be the same without you.  I could have gone after my wife, and maybe I should because…well…but I _didn’t_ and fuck I’m sorry I’m a huge asshole I shouldn’t have done that, I shouldn’t have done any of this.”  Dan can only watch and listen to what Arin has to say.  It’s all fine and dandy at first until Arin mentions a wife and that only fills Dan with confusion and dread.

Arin’s married?

Why should that matter?  Clearly Arin is only looking for his friend, for his business partner or whatever he is when it comes to Game Grumps.

Why is Dan suddenly disappointed when faced with this news?

“Your wife,” Dan repeats, letting the truth sink in and trying his hardest to remain composed in light of this news.  “You’re married and you came to me first?  Why?”  A reasonable question.

“I don’t know.  Ross asked me the same thing and I still can’t say why.  But when I was able to track you down I didn’t look back.  It just…made sense to me.”  Dan suddenly isn’t sure if Arin is telling the truth anymore.  He feels duped even though deep down he is still convinced Arin didn’t mean any harm.

It may be weird but Dan still holds out hope that Arin isn’t fucking him over.  He felt… _something_ when Arin touched him.  If it weren’t for Arin, he would still be oblivious that there is even a whole other world out there for him.  But knowing that Arin is married…it just taints everything.

“But you’re going to track her down, right?  You won’t be able to get your world back without _everyone_ and she is a part of your world.”  No matter what, Dan just isn’t the kind of person to sabotage someone for his own personal happiness.  Besides, Arin is clearly confused and taking advantage of Arin’s conflicting feelings would be cruel and not at all helpful.

“I will track her down.” Arin nods, placing a hand on Dan’s shoulder.  “I’m sorry if I misled you, that I didn’t mention her before.  I’m so used to it being common knowledge that I forgot you didn’t know and…it was maybe a bit selfish to keep that from you until now.”  His hand feels nice, but Dan is suddenly not sure if it’s the fact that it’s Arin touching him or if he just was that neglected that he would welcome anyone touch him right now.

Dan swallows down his pride and accepts that Arin is just going to be a friend, nothing more, and resolves to keep it that way no matter what his mind and his body might crave.  Even if Arin seemed pretty content with screwing up his own marriage.  Fuck, why did this have to be so unnecessarily confusing?

“Look, I’m gonna get dressed and try to meet up with Peter.  You…are free to stay here while I do that.” Dan knows that he is trying to avoid facing the truth, that everything he is doing today is going to be nothing more than a means to distract him from his own thoughts, but it’s the only thing he can think of doing right now.  “Let me give you my cell in case you need to reach me while I’m gone.”

Arin hands him his cell phone, and so Dan inputs his number into it and hands it back to him.  He notices the way Arin’s fingers brush against his own in the most cliché manner and if Dan isn’t so pleasantly affected by the touch, he would be rolling his eyes right now.  He is so unbelievably fucked.

“Let me text you so you have mine, too,” Arin mumbles, typing out a quick text and hitting send.  Dan looks down at his phone to see a message “hey hot stuff (heart eyes emoji)” to which Dan _does_ roll his eyes, but he lets out a soft chuckle to show that he is amused by Arin’s antics.

“You nerd.” Dan grins and shakes his head.  He moves to get up from the couch, but he suddenly feels a hand on his wrist, a feeling of déjà vu washing over him in that instant.  A weight pulls him back down, although that weight isn’t technically Arin.  It’s a feeling he’s felt before, the night before when Arin had cornered him after the concert.  His vision completely whites out as he instead finds himself in a completely new room, watching a scene play out before his eyes.

_They’re playing games on the couch – a very familiar scene.  Arin is the one with the controller and Dan has comfortably draped himself against Arin while watching him play what appears to be a Legend of Zelda game.  The banter is natural.  This Dan – Arin’s Dan, he’s telling a story that Dan himself would never have told anyone in his world, let alone thousands of viewers.  The way Arin responds, the subtle cursing under his breath, everything about this moment seems so real, like it had happened but Dan has never experienced it until now._

_Watching himself – a different version of himself – joke about how he should fuck Dan is so very surreal.  And the way Arin responds, playing along with the joke?  Dan envies this friendship.  But he also sees why Arin is so desperate to find him again.  He sees it in the way Arin glances at Dan when he’s not paying attention, and the way he leans back into Dan.  Was Arin’s Dan oblivious to all of this?  Or did they just understand each other so well that Arin’s Dan kept a solid boundary up, knowing that a married Arin couldn’t give into temptation?_

The vision fades and Dan finds himself back in his apartment, on the couch, seated next to Arin who appears to have been watching him throughout the whole experience, calling his name and trying to bring him back to reality.  Dan, in all honesty, doesn’t know what to do.  Does he tell Arin about what he just saw?  His instincts tell him to keep the details to himself.  Arin would probably be embarrassed if Dan figured out the truth that easily.

“What was that all about?  It was like you weren’t there,” Arin asks, his voice filled with worry.

“I…saw another vision,” Dan admits, curling the corners of his lips into a small smile.  “I can see why you want to get your friend back.”  It hurts a little to refer to this other Dan as Arin’s friend, but it’s the truth, isn’t it?  As much as he would love to pretend, he _isn’t_ the same person that Arin is so close to.  How can he even try to replace him?

But the way Arin’s face fell with a questioning look, Dan is wondering if maybe he is thinking about this all wrong.

“Dan, what are you even talking about?  You’re right here,” is Arin’s response and Dan can’t repress the sigh that is building in his chest.

“I’m not him and I never will be.”  The words bite, and he feels utterly bad for the way Arin jumps back, but at least it gives him an opening to jump up off the couch and escape to the bedroom.  This is all too much, he needs to escape.  He needs…

Well, he can think of a few things that could make him feel better.  And none of them involve Arin, so first he gets dressed, as he said he would.  Arin at least doesn’t seem to be chasing after him, so maybe his words worked.  So why does it hurt that he _isn’t_ trying to talk to Dan?

Maybe he isn’t the same Dan that Arin befriended, but the more of these weird flashes of memory that he experiences, the more he wonders if it’s possible…if _maybe_ he could be close to the same thing.

It’s too late, though.  He has already done his damage and there’s no turning back.  He grabs all the essentials, including a coat, and hustles straight for the door to his apartment, not slowing down to see if Arin is still there.

“So that’s it, then.”  Dan is waiting for the elevator when he hears the voice coming from the entrance to his apartment.  “You’re just going to go off to who knows fucking where and not even say goodbye.”

The words bite even worse than the ones Dan flung at Arin.  Dan knows deep down that he deserves them.

“I just need some time to myself, okay?  I’ll text you or something.”  He still refuses to look back at Arin, to see what damage he’s done.

“Please be safe.”

The elevator door opens and Dan jams his finger against the lobby button again and again and again, wanting so much to be swallowed up by something, just so he wouldn’t have to face the anguish and the guilt.  He’s really done a number these past two days.  He just met Arin the night before and already he managed to fuck up a perfectly good opportunity at a friendship, at something that could have been amazing.  And why?  For completely selfish reasons.

He doesn’t deserve Arin and he knows it.  He could go to Peter right now.  Quit the band, be dramatic, push Arin away even more, wallow in his own self-pity.  Or he could give into those demons he has been struggling to push away and even successfully avoided for so long.

Too bad Dan is just feeling a bit too vulnerable to slay his demons at the moment.

The next few hours become a bit of a blur terrifyingly fast.  He texts one of his old friends, in dire need of a distraction, which turns into a drink – “isn’t it kind of early?” “it’s _never_ too early” which turns into another drink, and another.

Somewhere along the line a few other people join them and a joint is lit.  Under normal circumstances, Dan would have passed up the opportunity, but fuck, he’s not in any condition to stand up to that kind of temptation.

It isn’t until something new, something much worse makes its appearance that Dan is starting to wonder if maybe he fucked up more than he would like to admit.  As good as it felt to shut his mind off for a while, this is where he draws the line.  Some stranger holds the pipe out to him and Dan just… _stares_ at it.  Is this really fucking happening?  The last time he hung out with these guys there was no inkling of hard drugs, and now?

His mind is fuzzy and he can feel himself on the verge of blacking out with all the alcohol and weed in his system. And worst of all, he feels trapped, like walking out the door of this guy’s place isn’t an option.  Which may just be the weed clouding his head, but fuck if he can figure out the difference between marijuana-induced paranoia and actual reasonable thoughts.

He hates to admit it to himself that he has gotten himself into a debacle, but even less so he hates that he knows there is only one person he can trust right now to bail him out of this mess.  He makes an excuse to get to the bathroom and shoots Arin a quick text of _im really fucking sry about earlier pls pick me up_ followed by the address.  Thank god he knows where this guy’s apartment is at the very least.

When he emerges from the apartment, the room is starting to get even fuzzier and so he braces himself against the wall.  If he sits down, he might never leave this apartment in one piece – or at least that is what his brain is telling him even if it’s an exaggeration brought on by too much shit in his system.

For once in his life, he is thankful that these idiots he used to call friends are too preoccupied with their illicit substances to pay much attention to Dan as he stumbles out of the apartment and slips out the door.  He doesn’t bother trying to find his way home though, hoping that Arin will come to his rescue.  He can feel himself slipping, the thought of sleeping becoming way too pleasant but he tries with all his might to fight it until Arin tells him that it’s okay to go to sleep.

But shit if sleeping right now doesn’t seem like the best idea.  His eyelids start to slide shut when he feels an arm wrap around his shoulder and suddenly he is being pulled to his feet.  He isn’t sure how he managed to get from his friend’s apartment to Arin’s hotel, but when he finally feels fully conscious again, he is splayed across a queen-sized bed that most definitely doesn’t belong to him and Arin is hovering over him.  He can hear two other voices, but with the way his head is currently yelling at him for all the strain he has put it through in one day, he doesn’t bother trying to sit up to see who else is in the room.

“Fuuuuuuck,” Dan groans.  He knows eventually he is going to have to explain what happened, but for now he is going to allow himself to feel thankful that he made it through the day in one piece.

“You gave us quite the scare there.”  Arin’s voice sounds stern, but also with that same worry from before.  As Dan begins to focus more, he feels Arin’s fingers running through his hair and it’s unbelievably calming.  For the moment, he feels like all is right with the world.  “Barry was minutes away from calling an ambulance.”

“Just weed and whiskey,” Dan mumbles, trying to keep from speaking too much.  The effort is very draining, not to mention his throat feels very dry.  “I’ll live, although my head may make me regret that.”  He laughs derisively, mostly to make it clear he is not actually contemplating anything of that sort.  When he opens his eyes and sees the grave looks on everyone’s faces he thinks maybe he should have just kept that to himself.  He is just striking out one after another after another today.

“You should get some rest.  When you’re feeling more like yourself again we’ll talk more, okay?”

If Dan isn’t mistaken, he is fairly certain that he felt Arin’s lips against his forehead.  But he must have imagined that because Arin wouldn’t do anything of the sort, right?

He nods although he isn’t sure anyone is still there to witness the gesture and turns onto his side, away from Arin and his friends, away from the mess that he’s made.  It would have been so easy, to just run away and never look back.  And now he’s stuck.  But would it be so awful?  To see what Arin’s world is all about?

Maybe it isn’t that Arin is supposed to get back to his world by bringing them all together.  And maybe this is Dan’s hopeful side, but maybe there is a reason Arin was sent to this world, to _him_.  Arin came to Dan first, right?  After everything that transpired, Dan still can’t shake that thought.

So he resolves to get to the bottom of this.  While Arin is busy trying to figure out how to get himself home, Dan will just have to figure out why Arin really wound up in this reality.

He will have to figure out why Arin is really here…and how he can _keep_ him here.


	7. Ross

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross is at a crossroads and can't make up his damn mind. Luckily Barry is there to help make it up for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry about how long this took. The snowpocalypse happened plus this week was incredibly busy and I may have gotten sick as a result. I am going to shoot for updating at least once a week and if I happen to get more than one update out in a week then awesome! So if you do not see another chapter until next weekend, do not fret.

Now that Dan is starting to get back to normal following the small scare he managed to put everyone through, Ross no longer has a distraction to keep him from thinking about what in the fuck is going on.  Just days ago, Ross was at home in California, working on some animations with Arin and now he is in New York fucking City trying to convince two of their friends – at least they’re friends in another universe – to come back with them and take a chance to create something amazing.

It blows Ross’s mind that this can even be a possibility.  And if it weren’t for the fact that Barry of all people caused him to recall some of those wonderful memories he would continue to think Arin is full of shit.  But he’s not, and the more Ross remembers, the more he wants this wonderful world to become a reality.

And then on the flipside, he wonders why this is happening.  Why was this Arin thrust into another world where Game Grumps never existed?

His thoughts are a jumbled mess and all Ross wants right now is an excuse not to think about them.  But alas, now it’s all Ross can think about.

“So, the gang’s almost all here.”  It’s Barry, who plops down on the bed next to Ross.  Arin is still watching over Dan, which Ross has to admit is super sweet.  The way Arin is so fiercely protective of Dan, it’s kind of inspiring, and he tries to ignore the aching feeling in his chest as he remembers how it was Arin, not Ross, who brought the memories to the forefront of Barry’s mind.  Why should that even matter?  Arin apparently did the same for Dan, it doesn’t mean anything, right?

“Yeah, who else do we need to find?” Ross asks, wondering just how much Barry remembers.  Ross’s memories are a little fuzzy at times, and Ross foolishly wonders if Barry’s touch would elicit more memories.

“Brian, obviously.  Then it’s just Suzy,” Barry pauses and Ross can’t help but notice the disappointed tone Barry’s voice takes when he follows it up with, “and Holly, of course.”

_Holly_.

Fuck.  How could he forget Holly?  Holly and her sweet pink hair and affinity for all feathered friends.  Ross’s chest aches even more, maybe even figuratively splits in two.  No wonder Barry has been avoiding him all this time.

“Right, of course,” Ross struggles to keep his voice from wavering, which is honestly an achievement in and of itself.  “Can’t forget Holly.”  The conflicting feelings going through Ross’s mind are too much and if this is why Dan wound up in the state he is currently recovering in, well Ross can’t entirely blame him.  Although that isn’t exactly how Ross would medicate himself.

Everyone has vices, the little devilish ways that they deal with life’s humongous problems.  It’s no secret to the rest of the Grumps that Dan’s way of dealing was with illicit substances.  Ross?  Well, he tended to keep his thoughts to himself, convincing everyone else that he was okay and then spent evenings drinking just a little too much – but not nearly enough to raise any alarms.  He has always been careful and meticulous in order to keep everyone just far away enough that he always has that safety net to fall back on when things get just a little too hard.

Of course, being that everyone happens to be gathered in the hotel room that he is currently sharing with Arin, it makes it a little hard for Ross to do any of that.  Which is why he is trying his damnedest to keep his cool and not panic as tempting as it is.

And then Ross’s mind turns to Arin.  Arin, who similarly seems to be torn between his own wife Suzy and Dan.  He wonders if Arin realized how much Dan has meant to him before all of this shit happened or if this is a new development.  He wonders how Arin is processing all of this and managing to stay so collected.  He is a little envious, wishing that he had the same capabilities right now.

“Ross?” Barry’s voice breaks him out of his reverie, and he turns to his friend with a questioning look on his face.  “I asked if you were okay, dude, your face was looking a little pale there for a second.”

“I’m…fine,” Ross scrunches his nose and lets out a deep sigh, betraying his attempt to cover up for his obvious discontentment.

“Ross…” Barry’s voice is warning him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to hold back from him of all people.  It’s just in Ross’s nature not to open up, not to mention it still feels weird sometimes to consider Barry a friend since technically they just met, even if it feels as if they’ve known each other for much longer.

“Can we get some fresh air?” Ross asks, motioning to Arin and Dan.  “I feel like Arin will probably appreciate being left alone with Dan anyway.”

“Of course,” Barry, pushes up off the bed and turns back to wait for Ross, who follows suit and grabs his wallet, shoving it into his pocket.

At first, they walk in silence, one foot after the other.  They fall into an easy rhythm with their strides syncing up once.  Ross shoves his hands into his pockets and doesn’t look at Barry, trying to keep his mind clear.

It’s Barry who fills the silence first.

“Did I do something wrong?” And fuck, there’s that aching feeling in his chest again, as if there was a hand inside his body gently tugging at his heart.

Ross stops in his tracks and pulls a hand out of his pocket to reach for Barry’s to stop him.  He doesn’t mean for another wave of memories to come flooding back to him.  All of the memories involve Barry in some form, between recording for Steam Train or some ridiculous Grump Out videos.  When Ross’s vision clears, he sees Barry’s hand in front of his face, clearly trying to bring him back to reality.

Without thinking, Ross pulls Barry into a hug, burying his face in Barry’s shoulder.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Ross mumbles, breathing in deeply so that every smell that reminds him of Barry causes his senses to go haywire.  He picks his head up so that Barry can actually understand what he is saying, instead of letting his words get absorbed into the fabric of Barry’s shirt.  “I don’t know what I’m doing.  I just know that I don’t want to have to choose.”  He doesn’t specify what he would be choosing between, because that would mean having to actually admit the internal conflict he is going through.  Plus, the last thing he wants to do is freak Barry out; he is fairly certain Arin would never forgive him.

“You aren’t alone, you know that, right?” Barry’s voice is soothing, and although Ross can’t see it, he can feel Barry’s hand rubbing gently at Ross’ back.  Fuck, that is making this even harder.  But it’s Barry’s head resting gently against Ross’s so that their foreheads are touching that makes this moment feel all the more intimate.  To the random passerby they probably look like lovers sharing a moment while the world moves around them.  Normally this would freak Ross the fuck out, but right now, he is relishing it while he still can.  Besides, it’s not like he will see any of these strangers ever again.  “Besides, at least your choice wouldn’t involve moving across the country.”

Ross wonders if Barry realizes that Ross’s choice is so much more than deciding to follow in Arin’s footsteps by creating the Game Grumps and working on content for that channel.  If anything, the way in which Ross squeezes Barry so tightly, as if he will disappear if Ross isn’t careful enough, should be more than enough evidence of what Ross’s predicament is, but Barry is either being intentionally stubborn or can’t seem to realize just what is going through Ross’s head right now.

“Well…you have a point,” Ross says carefully.  He pulls away from Barry, slowly, reminding himself that Barry isn’t going to just disappear if he stops holding onto him.  This isn’t a dream; Barry is _real_ and he is right in front of him.  The way Barry is looking at Ross, it should make it easier to admit what’s really at stake for Ross, but if anything it makes it harder.  Because Barry is looking at Ross like he’s the only goddamn person in this huge fucking city and it kills Ross to have to put into words what is going on in his mind.

“But that’s not really what I’m worried about.”  Ross knows his nerves are getting the better of him when his accent starts slipping out again.  Maybe it would be easier to stop fighting it, but he also wants to make sure the accent doesn’t garble his words at all.  He needs Barry to understand where he is coming from.  “When we first met, you opened my mind to this whole world where I felt so happy, where I was able to pursue my own ridiculous animations and just mess around with my best friends in the world.  But then I didn’t do the same for you.”  Ross knows he’s rambling, but it is important that Barry understand the whole weird way his mind has managed to work thus far.

“But it happened eventually, right?  I’m here now, and I remember quite a lot of the ridiculous shenanigans we’ve been through.”  The smile that Barry gives Ross just makes his heart skip a beat and Ross knows he’s fucked.

“Yeah, it happened because of Arin, and I don’t know why I was so disappointed that it wasn’t me, but,” Ross clenches his eyes shut and takes a step back from Barry, wrapping his arms around himself, as if trying to protect himself from all the emotions that are struggling for control right now.  “I already know what I’ve chosen with regards to Arin.  I’m gonna help him make Game Grumps because he’s my best friend.  I may have been skeptical at first, but now I know it’s possible since we did it in another life.  It’s you, Barry.  It’s always been you.  I can’t say for sure whether I really noticed it while married to Holly in Arin’s world.  Maybe it’s just me in this world.  But when you reminded me that we have to find Holly I knew I would have to choose eventually.  I don’t want to choose.”

And there it is.  It’s out in the open, and Ross tries his damnedest not to look at Barry because having to bare his soul in such a manner is nerve wracking enough, but facing Barry’s response is just impossible.  Even if it would make the choice that much easier, Ross knows that pain is in his future no matter what it is that happens.

It feels like an eternity has passed before Barry says anything, and still Ross has refused to look at Barry for any indication of what he might be thinking.  It isn’t until Ross feels a hand on his shoulder that Ross decides to let his hands drop to his sides and slowly looks up to face the music.

“Ross,” comes Barry’s sweet, caring voice.  “You know I will support you no matter what you do.  And I know Holly will.  She loves you…or at least she has before, in Arin’s world.  But this isn’t Arin’s world and we aren’t the same people as Arin has surrounded himself with.  The Suzy of this world might already be married, same with the Holly.  There is no guarantee that every Ross in every world has fallen in love with every Holly.  At least, I am pretty sure that’s how these parallel universes work.  Don’t put unnecessary stress on yourself by worrying about something that you might not even have to choose.  Just…be true to yourself and to your feelings right here and right now.  Keeping to yourself is only going to do you more harm than good.”

Ross absorbed every word that Barry spoke and with each word tucked away, Ross felt his heart ache less and less.  Until finally, Barry had stopped speaking and Ross was left feeling like a weight was lifted from his shoulders.  Barry is right.  No matter how many memories Ross has of Holly and can remember the way _that_ Ross had fallen in love with Holly…that _wasn’t him_.  He hadn’t actually lived through any of that.  So why should he lock his heart away with the assumption that this Holly would even fall in love with him?

And then it dawns on Ross that Barry hasn’t actually reacted to the part where Ross basically admitted he has feelings for him, for Barry, for his own fucking best friend.

“So let me get this straight…” Ross begins, cycling through Barry’s words again on the off chance that he managed to miss the part where Barry responded to that part of his confession.  There was no negative reaction at least, but that still isn’t exactly a reaction.  “You say you would support me no matter what.  Does that mean…”  Ross searches Barry’s face carefully, and okay maybe if he had actually observed Barry’s visage before he responded he would not be nearly this confused.

In lieu of actually forming a verbal response, Barry pulls Ross into a similar hug and squeezes him tightly.  Between that and the lips to his cheek – not to mention that oddly endearing sensation of beard scratching against his face – Ross is pretty certain what Barry is trying to say to him.  Sometimes actions really do speak louder than words.

“I was worried, too, you know.  When Arin helped jog my memories from his world, I remembered Holly and I was ready to distance myself from you.  Guess that didn’t last too long, huh?” The nervous laughter from Barry helps calm any lingering nerves Ross might still have had from all of this.  He can’t help but smile as he pulls back from the hug Barry has him pulled into.

“I’m glad you didn’t really push me away.”  By the time he pulls completely away from Barry’s embrace, he is grinning, a full realization settling in.  For the first time in a long time, Ross feels hopeful for his future.  Like he might actually be able to do something incredible with Arin and these newfound friends.  He reaches for Barry’s hand and boldly slides their fingers together.  This time, no new memories crop up.  “Should we go back to the hotel and see how Dan is holding up?”

Barry glances down at their interlinked hands and smiles before looking back up at Ross and nodding decisively.  “Yeah, of course.  I have a feeling Dan will need some serious reassurance when he wakes up and I don’t know, I’m just worried about him.  Arin never said what happened with the both of them while we were dealing with our own problems.  I mean, he insists Dan is going to be physically fine, but there must have been something serious going on there if it drove him into this state.”

Ross frowns and for a moment feels like a little bit of an idiot for worrying so much about something so seemingly inconsequential in comparison to Dan’s own troubles.  He resolves to be more empathetic towards Dan and do what he can to make sure he doesn’t wind up in a similarly emotional state again.  But first, he will have to help figure out what Dan is even going through.

“We’ll help Arin help Dan, don’t worry.  Even if we can only help by just…being there.  Sometimes that’s all you can do.  We don’t want to overwhelm Dan, after all.  You and I may have had a relatively calm reaction but maybe Dan wasn’t able to easily swallow Arin’s explanation.  If that’s the case we may be better off taking a step back and letting Dan come to terms with this other reality.”

Barry nods in agreement and the two start back towards the hotel.  All the while, their hands stay linked together and all the while Ross can’t stop wondering about the Holly in this world – what she is like, if she is married, if she will disapprove of all of this, especially of Ross and Barry once she remembers her own part in all of this.  He tries not to let the guilt seep back in, but it’s incredibly difficult.  After all, she is a big part of his life in Arin’s reality.

It isn’t until Ross unlocks the door to the hotel room that Barry finally slides his hand out of Ross’s grip.  They slip back in quietly and are greeted with a welcome sight – Dan appears to be awake and judging by the grin on Arin’s face, things are looking to be a lot better, which is a relief.

“Nice of you two to finally come back, I was about to send a search party,” Arin jokes.  “I was going to order in room service, you guys want anything?”

“Can you really afford that?” Ross asks, narrowing his eyes in skepticism.

“I was going to foot the bill,” Dan pipes up, waving almost too cheerfully, which cues even more skepticism.  Ross has a feeling this is only going to crop up again eventually.

“I am kind of hungry,” Ross admits, glancing to Barry, who nods and agrees that food would be a good idea.  “Besides, we can eat while we discuss our next plan of attack.  We probably should figure out where Brian is, no?”

“That shouldn’t be so hard, he’s gotta be a professor somewhere since Ninja Sex Party never happened,” Barry quips before looking over at Dan.  “In Arin’s world you were the one who found him.  Maybe you’re the one who’s meant to find him here.”

Dan glances first at Arin, then at Barry, finally settling on Ross.  He takes a moment to think of how to respond and then finally shrugs, defeated.  “I don’t even know where I would start.  I’ve never met him.  Could we google him the same way you guys found me?  Don’t universities usually list their professors somewhere on their websites?”

Ross shouldn’t be so surprised when Brian’s name shows up as Professor of Theoretical Physics at New York University.  After everything that the four of them have gone through in the past two days it just seems like the sort of ridiculously coincidental thing that would happen.

“Looks like I’ll be sitting in on a physics class tomorrow,” Dan announces.  Ross watches him closely, noticing how Dan is just a little _too_ enthusiastic.  He knows Arin cares deeply for Dan, he really does, but he worries that Arin might not realize that Dan is just trying to force himself to be better if it would make Arin happy.  As someone well versed in the art of deception, Ross knows how to pick up on those signs all too well.

“Do you want company?” Ross offers.  “If there’s enough space for both of us to go, that is.”  It would give Ross the chance to see what was going on with Dan as well as possibly helping Dan reach out to Brian.  After all, Dan seems to be somewhat resistant to the idea of joining everyone in the Grump revolution that Arin is trying so hard to spearhead.

“Sure, yeah, of course.”  Dan glances to Arin, as if to make sure he is okay with it, and when Arin gives his blessing, it’s settled.

Tomorrow, Dan and Ross would try to recruit a theoretical physicist into their blossoming comedy video game commentary channel.  Yeah, this couldn’t possibly go horribly wrong at all.


End file.
